Responses to Facebook chats.
MY experience with a real 20-year dictatorship, in seven facts/truths: <1>Attack of the press is an understatement. The newspaper that I wrote for was raided by soldiers and senior staff were jailed. Many colleagues (from other papers) either went missing (desaparecidos or dead) or shot dead in front of people. Jail-time? That's being lucky. <2>Pulling from the streets is easy. Many were "snatched" not by masked men but uniformed soldiers and cops in front of people. Student activists were thrown off the 7th floor of the building, others tortured to name names. More gruesome stories?
<3>Universities? It was 20 years. We got used to soldiers following us students wherever we went so we never went anywhere alone. And I ran fast and hid well, LOL! <4> Investigate who? It was Martial Law. Marcos was prez for 20 years with Washington backing. Dem? GOP? Who cares? Marcos won in 1965, and swept out of power in 1986, rescued by Washington to Hawaii.
<5>The Marcos Family defied everybody except the benefactor America. <6>All companies gave 10 to 15 percent of their monthly profit to the family, delivered in a bag ("bayong") while the boss was playing golf. In their years the Philippines produced gold almost equal to South Africa. Where are the golds now? <7> Extrajudicial killings a.k.a. “salvagings” were "ordinary." If you don't see your kin or friend or neighbor in 2 or 3 days? Expect their lifeless body floating in the river or dumped in the dumpsite. Etc etcetera.
Dictatorship in America? What dictatorship? People insult Trump openly. Then? Do that to Imelda then run for your life, literally. LOL! 🇵🇭☮️🇺🇸
<>BASED on what I know and experienced (and covered from age 14) of a dictatorship, military rule or Martial Law, I don’t think it will ever happen in America. If we are in Indonesia or Nigeria et al, yes I believe dictatorship can happen (again). I don't think it will even happen in Japan or Germany or France. Why? The U.S., regardless of (whoever) POTUS, is the most powerful/influential country and #1 economy in the world. Internal tempest only weakens America’s global clout, especially that China gained the trade leverage and BRICS is fast matching G7 in economic influence.
The U.S. needs global support, more in this century as its clout diminishes. (Howard Zinn predicted before he died in 2010, repeat 2010, that this huge divide will happen. Yet Trump is the classic alibi.)
True, Mr Trump aims to bring manufacturing back but he is more trying to please his minions or attend to his campaign pledge than he is seeing reality. At least, he is trying–no POTUS can lure back the 8,600+ U.S. companies in China (they may even move to India or Indonesia, BRICS bloc members).But the President can attract more FDIs. The last year the U.S. had a surplus was 1975. So Bill Clinton’s trade pact with Jiang Zemin in 2000 was simply the “nail in the coffin” of America’s economic rule though the 1 Percent U.S. corporations got richer due to the obvious; as China’s state-owned industries (and globally tops 5 banks) accentuated the Dragon’s trade expansionism.
Per the deportation of students, back home they were simply EJK’ed or salvaged. In fact the son of my editor is still missing for a decade or so now, of course dead. He was snatched by soldiers, post-Marcos years. Honestly, this DOGE clean-up should happen in other countries as well, especially those who received a lot of foreign aid that bred massive corruption, including the Philippines then and Ukraine now.
In Corazon Aquino’s years (1986-1991), I was a member of her PCGG (directly under her), tasked to clean-up agencies and prosecute Marcos cronies and recover the family’s ill-gotten wealth. But because the Marcoses’ “money” was already placed and secured elsewhere and they enjoyed superpower coddle, only a fraction of what they stole was recovered. I mean Imelda won her case in New York City, remember? I resigned after a year with PCGG because I didn’t conform with how some officials were “bought.” I also protested USAID, by the way. Aid is quid pro quo: Gimme (foreign corporation) the trade contract, you (government official) get the aid. 🇵🇭☮️🇺🇸
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